Saturday, 1 June 2013

SOUTH DEVON ARTS CENTRE - LAUNCH NIGHT LIVE REVIEW

There's always
a buzz when a new venue opens in a town but when that venue promises the
best in emerging music, comedy and theatre to a creative community such as
Totnes, that buzz is only heightened. I'll admit that I came more for the music
than the 'launch night' but my curiosity was peaked when my sat-nav directed me
in to the arse-end of an industrial estate on the edge of Totnes. Sure enough,
there it was; sandwiched between a Fitness Studio and some kind of welding
workshop, the brand new South Devon Arts Centre - paint still drying and doors
still to be fitted to some toilet cubicles but ready to welcome music lovers
from all around. The venue itself has been put together with versatility in
mind with a large dance floor and bar area downstairs as well as a seated
viewing balcony upstairs. There was a slightly disappointing lack of posters on
the walls and no information about future events but this was the first night
and celebration was the watch word.

Following a
gentle but heartfelt introduction from Whispering Bob Harris, the first act to
officially grace the SDAC stage was the extravagantly dressed and impressively
voiced Rebecca Maze. Sounding at times as eccentric as Tori Amos and Regina
Spektor, Maze is an impressive talent switching effortlessly between piano and
guitar whilst her voice created images and atmospheres that many full bands
struggle and fail to achieve. Sadly, the excitement of the opening night was
too much for some portions of the crowd who visibly irritated the singer by
talking (loudly) throughout the entire set (it's a pet peeve of mine too, why
come to watch great, original live music and then talk through it? If you want
to talk through live music then go to the pub and listen to a covers band at
the very least, don't talk over something that someone has taken time to create
and has the courage to perform). Even a mellowed out version of Survivor's 'Eye
Of The Tiger' wasn't enough to grab the audience's full attention, sadly.

Mae & The Midnight Fairground

Now, a quiz
question for you: What has six legs, an afro, two summer dresses, a cello, a clarinet,
a Korg and the personality of an overexcited children's entertainer from the
1950s? Mae and the Midnight Fairground, that's what. When setting up I wasn't
sure if this Totnes based trio were going to be brilliant or to twee for my
taste but I'm glad to say they were neither, they we're mesmerisingly wondrous.
Led by the charming and hugely talented Mae Karthauser, the band kicked off
with the rambling but picturesque 'Lucian' ranging from Muse-esque classic-pop
piano riffs to moments with more than a hint of Yiddish to them. Ably
accompanied by Alex on the Cello and Conrad on clarinet and guitar, Mae is
clearly a master of song writing as well as a marvellous raconteur. The songs
ranged from tales of the homeless, missing cats and a cautionary tale to those
too eager to grow up and be 'responsible' in the instantly infectious 'Mortgage
Song'. By the end of the set, Mae had the crowd eating out of her hands and
singing along to her songs so with Glastonbury shows already in the bag I would
put money on big things happening for this trio, mark my words.

The first time
I ever saw Jake Morley play was in a basement bar at about 3.00pm on a Saturday
afternoon

Jake Morley

in Brighton and he blew me away with his talents. Two years later and
I was keen to see whether that initial encounter had been a fluke and was
pleased discover that it wasn't. Morley's use of a guitar is spell binding as
he strums, picks, hammers and, let's be frank, batters the living daylights out
of the whole instrument to create fresh sounds and ear catching songs.
Tonight's performance was slick and relaxed at the same time with Morley
switching between sitting with his guitar on his lap and jumping around the
stage like a child with ADD. But it's the humour and pathos in Morley's lyrics
that make his songs so instantly loveable with established songs like 'Freddie
Laid The Smackdown' and 'Feet Don't Fail Me Now' sitting comfortably alongside
more reflective new material such as 'Ghostess' and 'Push The Button And It All
Goes Back To Normal'. A master of the stage and crowd manipulation, Morley
pushed on through the continued chatter to lose himself in the music and the
majority of the crowd was more than happy to follow him in his reverie.

There was one
other band on the night, Yes Sir Boss, but an early start the next day and the
increasingly irritating and disrespectful crowd forced my decision to leave (apologies
to the band who I do plan to catch soon). All in all, it was a great opening
night and the venue will settle in to its surroundings with a bit more TLC
funded by, hopefully, more sell out crowds. I just hope once the initial
excitement has worn off that the crowds are a bit more respectful of the
musicians as it can really ruin an evening of music at the quieter end of the
spectrum for both performers and audience!